CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) office has announced the individual award winners and All-Conference pairings for the 2025 beach volleyball season, where the No. 2-ranked Corban University Beach Volleyball team locked up over half of the major awards and were responsible for three of the eight All-Conference pairings, representing the only team with more than two duos selected to All-CCC honors.
Atop the major awards announced today was the selection of senior Jessica McMillian and junior Emmi Marks as the 2025 CCC Pair of the Year after completing an incredible run through the conference slate from the third-overall pairing in Warriors' head coach Dan Stephens' lineup. McMillian and Marks finished the conference schedule at 14-1 with their lone loss coming in a down-to-the-wire three-set affair in southern Oregon against the No. 7-ranked Raiders. That loss represents the only sets dropped by the duo all of March and April, as the duo accumulated a 29-2 mark in sets played. On the year, McMillian and Marks are tied with their teammates from the fourth-overall pairing for the conference lead in total wins, as they are 16-2 heading into postseason play.
"Emmi and jess have been a great example of a strong beach volleyball pair," Coach Stephens explained when asked to details his second-straight CCC Pair of the Year from his program. "They are confident in their own abilities and skills, and they focus on making their partner better every touch of the ball. That type of unselfish play keeps them out of their own heads when things get challenging. They both have a high volleyball IQ and can adjust strategies quickly, keeping them a move ahead of their opponents. This award is a great honor for them and Corban has been blessed with their steady partnership."
Coach Stephens was among the individual award winners as well, as he was dubbed the Coach of the Year by his fellow pier shortly after leading the program to an undefeated 15-0 walloping through the CCC. In addition to their dominant run through the conference, Corban beach volleyball is off to their best record in program history under Coach Stephens' leadership, as the Warriors are 17-1 on the season with head-to-head victories over both NCAA DI Sacramento State University and the University of Portland to begin their 2025 regular season, with their lone dual loss coming against the University of Oregon.
Joining Coach Stephens on the individual award podium in their team/pair centric varsity sport was sophomore Emma Bischoff and freshman Gabi Engels, who were named the 2025 Attacker of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Represented by the cohort of McMillian/Marks, Stephens, Bischoff, and Engels, Corban beach volleyball secured four of the seven special awards presented among the All-Conference award ceremony, further cementing the program's success cultivated in the Pacific Northwest over their short six years as a varsity squad.
Bischoff, an indoor All-Conference starter for the No. 4-ranked women's volleyball team and beach volleyball First Team All-American in 2024, continues to be feared at the net as one of the most lethal attackers within the NAIA to garner the first CCC Attacker of the Year honor of her career. Alongside partner and senior Megan Dennis at the top overall pairing for the Navy and Gold, Bischoff has added another 14 wins to her individual career record and will surely push both Dennis and McMillian's all-time win records by her senior season with her current underclassmen pace.
"Emma's attacking is scary powerful and she's not afraid to challenge the blocker," detailed Coach Stephens on his second-year phenom. "Emma is a sophomore with a record of 13-2 this season and is continuing to become more deceptive with her attacks to off speed shots. We're excited to see what Emma has for us in the postseason!"
Engels appeared on the NAIA beach volleyball scene over the previous offseason having played two seasons of indoor volleyball for NCAA DII University of Texas at Dallas, and immediately hit the ground running as one of Coach Stephens' top recruits despite having to start back over in terms of freshman eligibility as an academic junior. With Engels untapped and raw potential in the sand, Coach Stephens and his staff combined her with a beach transfer from Sienna College, junior Alexis Adebodun, and the duo has thus far clicked from the minute they hit the courts. With the experience of Adebodun in the sand helping adapt her to the new outdoor beachy environment, Engels became the obvious choice for this year's Freshman of the Year as she and Adebodun fought to a 14-1 record of their own in CCC play to tie McMillian and Marks for the best record among conference pairs.
"Gabi has been having a great first season of beach and continues to build on her game," continued Coach Stephens of his final individual award winner this conference season. "Gabi's record this season is 14-1 in conference and her competitive spirit drives her to push even harder. The gritty nature she competes with has been a huge addition to our Warrior beach program, and we can't wait to see what she's able to accomplish as she continues to hone her craft even more."
The 14-1 records for both McMillian/Marks and Adebodun/Engels in conference action made them shoo-ins for First Team All-Conference recognition from the CCC, while Dennis and Bischoff picked up Honorable Mention honors after securing a 13-2 conference record. McMillians picked up her second-straight First Team honor, while Marks improved upon her Honorable Mention accolade from 2024 to lock up both First Team and Pair of the Year honors alongside McMillian. Both Dennis and Bischoff were recognized for a second-consecutive season as an All-Conference pair, while Adebodun and Engels were selected for First Team honors in their first season within the CCC.
When asked to go into detail on each of his three All-Conference pairings, Coach Stephens started with his top vote getters by stating, "Jessica and Emmi have stayed focused on their partnership and what things they do well. They compete very strategically, studying where they can score at a high percentage and then execute. They communicate well with each other and move on to the next ball without any mental hindrance. They are well deserving of this honor with a conference record of 14-1, and I'm sure they appreciate the recognition as well."
Coach Stephens continued with his first-year transfers by sharing, "Gabi and Alexis are two powerful athletes that just keep going after teams with their jump serves and aggressive attacks. They hold themselves to a high standard and even if they are in control of a match, they are pushing to be better. Their conference record is 14-1 and that's a tough accomplishment, and we're so proud of them."
Finally, Coach Stephens wrapped up his award season thoughts with his top pairing by saying, "Megan and Emma continue to be the pairing that is under constant pressure in the 1's pairing. This is their 2nd season together and have a conference record of 13-2 this season amongst some really good 1's pairings in the conference. They have that target on their back for quite some time now, and they step up to that challenge each match and have had great success. We look forward to their postseason performance and we are always big fans of this pair!"
The Warriors are scheduled to host the first annual CCC Championships starting tomorrow at 10am and running through Friday afternoon with a tourney champion earning the conference's automatic bid to 2025 NAIA National Championships later this month. Corban will battle Northwest University at 12pm tomorrow afternoon on their home courts to kick off their postseason run.
Follow Corban Athletics:
Facebook l Twitter l Instagram l YouTube l Email
